Man, 3 children killed in boating accident in Utah; dad may have died trying to rescue them

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

File photo (Photo: Getty Images)

Man, 3 children killed in boating accident in Utah; dad may have died trying to rescue them

File photo (Photo: Getty Images)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities say the people killed when a boat capsized on a Utah lake were a father, two of his daughters and one of their friends.

They were among seven people thrown into the chilly water when the boat overturned Monday amid a windstorm on Bear Lake, about 120 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Police said the group was reported missing at about 6 p.m. after failing to return from an outing on the lake that spans more than 112 square miles.

They were in the water for at least two hours as rescuers tried to find them amid waves that reached 10 feet and frothed in the wind, said Mike Wahlberg, fire chief in nearby Garden City, Utah, who helped with the rescue efforts.

The water was about 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

“If you’re in that water, you could be dead within an hour, half an hour even,” Wahlberg said. “It’s a bad deal for you, and it can be hard to survive.”

Utah State Parks officials identified the dead man as 46-year-old Lance Capener, a Weber County physician.

Two of his daughters — 7-year-old Kiley Capener and 13-year-old Kelsey Capener — and their friend 13-year-old Sierra Hadley were flown to a hospital but died early Tuesday.

“Evidently Lance [Capener] swam with [his wife] Kathy to the shore and then went back for the others,” the man’s mother, Pauline Capener, of Ogden told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday. “He would not come back without his children. I feel that’s why he died, trying to save the others.”

Lt. Eric Stucki says the other three people were hospitalized: Lance Capener’s wife, 42-year-old Kathy Capener, and two other friends, Tiffany Stoker and Tylinn Tilley, both 14.

1 Comment

EdwardAPeak

>>>my best friend’s ex-wife makes $61 /hr on the computer>>>. She has been out of a job for nine months but last month her pay was $15279 just working on the computer for a few hours… Read Full Article>>>>> Read More